James Potter and the Holiday Spirits
by Rainbow169
Summary: This is a side-story that uses the characters in my story "The Four Witches Go to Hogwarts."  The plot: Can the ghosts of the past teach James Sirius Potter a lesson?
1. James's Jealousy

Author's Notes

This is a side-story that is set in the time period after the epilogue, and uses the characters from "The Four Witches go to Hogwarts" and its sequels. However, it does not have any effect on those stories, it is a side "what if" story, although some things, such as the scenes set in the past, are compliant with the main "Four Witches" series up through "Serena Tippet and the Monster of Slytherin". It is set in December 2019, during Rose Weasley's third year at Hogwarts, but there are events in this story that make it an alternate story to "Rose Weasley and the Little Werewolf," particularly events concerning James Potter. Some things happen in this story that would not have happened in "Little Werewolf" and there are things that would have happened in that story that do not affect this one, partially because this story is being written before "Little Werewolf" is finished and thus it would end up spoiling that story. As with my other Harry Potter stories, I did not create the Harry Potter characters or the world that these stories are set in, although I did create the epilogue children's specific characterizations and added some of my own characters as well. Because of the nature of the plot, this story probably gives the ghosts different abilities than they would necessarily have in the canon Harry Potter series.

Chapter 1: James's Jealousy

"I'm sure we can top what I did last year. And if not, we can at least get revenge on Fred for kicking us out of the Gryffindor Quidditch team," David Longbottom said. He and James Potter were on the Hogwarts Express, riding home for the holidays.

"I really did like your fireworks and bubble gum trick. We should at least use fireworks again. I could nick some from my uncle's shop easily," James bragged.

"Fireworks are always a blast," David smirked, "I wonder if Peeves would like to help. He and I have had some fun pranking people this year and he would probably like to mess with a Quidditch game."

"Peeves isn't very loyal, though, is he? I've tried to get him to help me but he always ruined it by telling one of the professors just so he could see me get in trouble too," James complained.

"Who cares if you get in trouble? It's the fun of pranking people that counts. All they can do is take off house points and put me in detention, and that's fun too because then I get to annoy the git who is assigned to 'discipline' me. Who cares about Gryffindor winning the cup, anyway? It's more fun to just play around," David shrugged. James was oddly quiet upon hearing that. Was David right? Maybe things like house points and detentions didn't matter. The more James thought about it, the more annoyed he felt at those who dared scold him simply for having fun. He was the heir of Harry Potter, the greatest wizard of all time! They should be doing HIS bidding! But why didn't anyone seem to respect that? James realized what it was.

"It's Albus's fault," he said.

"What is? Does your wimpy little brother actually have a fun side? Did he play a prank on you?" David wondered.

"No! He has all the luck of actually looking like a little clone of Dad! If I looked more like Dad, maybe people would actually worship me like they should," James snapped.

"Worship you? I don't know about that. I don't worship anyone. That would mean actually following someone's rules!" David laughed derisively. James stuck his tongue out at David and stomped out of the compartment, looking for someone to take his anger out on. He shoved past Melissa Blips, rudely snapping her out of her dreamy reverie. She stumbled backwards, the photograph of Snape falling out of her hand.

"What was that for? You're just as bad as your grandfather, James Potter!" she snapped at him. He turned on her, pulling his wand out.

"How DARE you insult my grandfather! Try that again and you'll pay!" he snarled.

"James Potter, what ARE you doing? Put your wand away right now!" a new voice interrupted. Cupcake Quigley, a 7th year Slytherin prefect, was standing behind him. To James's further annoyance, he saw Fred Weasley coming up behind her.

"He was going to hex me! He pushed me and then he threatened me!" Melissa shrieked, grabbing her picture of Snape and clutching it protectively.

"She insulted my great namesake, the first James Potter," James stated in a snooty tone. "I don't know HOW she can worship that Death Eater instead of me."

"My Sevvie-poo stopped being a Death Eater! He loved Lily and protected her son! You wouldn't be ALIVE if it wasn't for Snape!" Melissa cried.

"Enough, you two. Hogwarts has rules against fighting, and those rules still apply here on the Express," Cupcake interrupted, "The school year isn't over yet."

"You know I'll have to tell your father about this, James," Fred added.

"You wouldn't be saying things like that if it was Albus, would you," James hissed.

"Albus doesn't get into fights or cause trouble. You would do well to learn from your little brother's example, before you get yourself expelled from Hogwarts, or worse," Fred retorted.

"I mean because he looks like Dad! People would worship me like they should if I looked like Dad!" James exploded, "Everyone likes him better because he looks like a clone of Dad!"

"I don't care if you have blue hair like Teddy Lupin. If you don't put your wand away right now I'm not only going to report your behavior to both your parents, but also to Aunt Hermione and Grandma Molly," Fred declared. James heaved a loud sigh, but put his wand back in his pocket. He started to walk away, but then he stopped, turned around, stuck his fingers out in a rude gesture, and then ran off.

"How the **** did someone as heroic as Uncle Harry raise someone like...like that! The way James is heading, he's going straight to Azkaban someday!" Fred ranted.

"I don't even think the first James Potter was that bad. At least, I don't ever remember hearing that he demanded that people worship him," Melissa said.

"Melissa, I'm not going to excuse any of James's behavior, but could you try not to insult people's relatives like that?" Cupcake asked with a bit of an exasperated sigh.

"I'll try. I really don't like anyone who was mean to Snape, but I could try to not talk about it to the Potters. It's not really their fault, is it," Melissa realized.

Several days later, it was Christmas Eve. Ron, Hermione, Rose and Hugo were visiting at 12 Grimmauld Place for a few days, and Rebecca Dursley was too. At that moment, Rebecca was talking with Albus in his bedroom about a work of muggle fiction that both of them were familiar with.

"Do you know if the spirits in that book you were reading are like the ones in real life? Could the Hogwarts ghosts take someone to their past and future?" Rebecca asked. She was referring to the book "A Christmas Carol," which Albus had been reading earlier that day.

"I don't know. I know that a pensieve can let people look at scenes of the past like the Ghost of Christmas Past did, and I think a Time-Turner might be able to take someone into the future. But ghosts can't actually touch or hold things, so all they could do is lead someone to a pensieve or a Time-Turner and tell them to use it. The ghosts in Mr. Dickens's story are different from the ones I've seen at Hogwarts, at least. And the story also makes it sound like it might just be Scrooge's dream, too. I don't really know, I'm sorry, Rebecca," Albus said, trying to think of the possibilities he knew of.

"Either way, I still think it's just so interesting that Hogwarts has real ghosts. But you mentioned that a pensieve can let people see the past? How does it do that? Is it like a magical DVD or a video recorder?" Rebecca wondered.

"I don't know exactly how it works, but I think people put their memories in them and then they can watch what happened like how someone else might have seen it. I think Dad has one because he said that Scorpius looked in it on Christmas Eve 2 years ago and saw Draco being evil in it," Albus explained.

"Maybe Uncle Harry will let me look in his if I ask! I want to see that time he turned Aunt Marge into a balloon! I hate her, since when I had to visit her she would always insult Uncle Harry so I'd love to see that happen to her," Rebecca said with a mischevious grin. She got up, eager to go ask Harry about it, but then the door slammed open, revealing a very angry James. Albus immediately shrunk back, even though he certainly hadn't done anything malicious towards his older brother.

"This was all your fault, Albus! It's your fault I don't get the respect I deserve!" James shouted.

"And what have you done to earn people's respect?" Rebecca challenged.

"I shouldn't have to earn it. I'm Harry Potter's oldest son. Of course I should be worshipped as a hero just like he is," James said, "And if Albus didn't exist, then I would get that respect!"

"Why would your brother not existing make people worship you? You're making less sense than usual, James," Rebecca replied, completely confused as to what James was even talking about.

"Because he's a clone of Dad!" James burst out, "If I looked more like Dad, people would know I'm his son and they would worship me!"

"But even if Albus was never born, that wouldn't change YOUR looks. And why should people worship you just for being Uncle Harry's kid? You think being a hero is in the blood or something, like how Scorpius thinks he's evil because of Draco?" Rebecca realized.

"All that is going to change. I'm going to make sure Albus won't take my place any more," James stated, pulling out his wand. Rebecca stood in front of Albus, who was cowering in the corner.

"What the **** are you trying to do to him? Change his hair color? Or are you going to hurt him? Because I'm going to..." Rebecca paused and took a deep breath, and then started shouting. "UNCLE HARRY! JAMES IS TRYING TO HEX ALBUS!" She was about to repeat herself, but then James pointed the wand at her.

"Chiropterus rhinus!" James yelled. A jet of light shot out of his wand and hit Rebecca in the nose. Suddenly, she began violently sneezing, and every time she sneezed, small bats flew out of her nose and swarmed around her.

"Finite incantatem!" called a new voice.


	2. Tales of the Past

Chapter 2: Tales of the Past

Hermione had appeared at the door, and her spell made the bats disappear.

"James hexed me! And he was going to do it to Albus because he thinks he should look like Harry!" Rebecca accused.

"James, is that the reason you used your mum's Bat-Bogey Hex on Rebecca? Simply because you want to change your OWN appearance? Explain to me how that makes any sense," Hermione demanded.

"Because everyone pays attention to Albus and praises him because he looks just like Dad! If I looked more like Dad, people would know I'm his son and respect me!" James whined.

"I think you're going to have to tell your dad and mum about this. Come on, and put that wand back in your pocket before I take it from you. You're not supposed to use magic outside of school anyway," Hermione scolded. James rolled his eyes but put his wand back anyway, and let Hermione lead him to where his parents were playing what looked like a muggle card game with Ron and Rosie.

"What's wrong? I heard some shouting coming from upstairs, was that you? Were you fighting with someone, James?" Rosie asked, worried.

"He was using the Bat-Bogey Hex on Rebecca, and says he was aiming at Albus. He claims that it was because he wants to look more like you, Harry," Hermione informed them.

"If I looked like you the way Albus does, then people would worship me like how they worship you! It's not fair!" James whined, "I'm a Potter too! Why don't I get special treatment too? Why doesn't everyone bow down to me and obey me?"

"I can think of someone ELSE who thought he should be worshipped because of his family name, and his initials are D.M.," Ron snorted, "Are you sure you want to imitate the Great Bouncing Ferret?"

"Are you seriously saying I'm like Draco? I'm not a Death Eater!" James protested, shocked at this comparison.

"It's people like the Death Eaters who believe that certain people are superior merely for who they are descended from and not their own personal merits. You are claiming that simply being Harry Potter's son gives you an elite status, are you not?" Hermione challenged.

"Of course it does! How could it not? I must have inherited at least SOME of Dad's special magic that killed Voldemort! I know what's going on here!" James snapped, pointing at Harry menacingly but backing up at the same time, "You don't WANT me to take your place! You want all the hero worship for yourself! I can see through that modest act! I'm not going to let you trick me again!" James then ran back up the stairs and Hermione could distantly hear a door slam. James had returned to his own bedroom, which was fitting because it was getting close to the time he and his siblings usually went to bed anyway. He glared at the picture of himself and Scorpius that was taped to his wall and then ripped it off.

"Even Scorpius abandoned me. Why couldn't he have just obeyed me?" he hissed. The picture fell near a box that was wrapped in yellow paper and marked "Albus." James grabbed it and ripped it open. Inside were the Lord of the Rings DVDs, something James and Harry had picked out together at a muggle electronics store. It was no secret that Albus loved the Lord of the Rings books, along with other muggle fantasy novels, and thus it was an obvious present. James stuffed the DVDs under his bed. He felt that Albus didn't deserve any presents.

"Everyone likes him better anyway," James said bitterly. There was a knock on his door, and then it opened, revealing Hugo, who was wearing his school robes so that they covered his head like a hood. He had necklaces wrapped around his arms and neck that jangled as he stepped slowly towards James with arms outstretched.

"I am the ghost of Bob Marley! I am here to deliver a warning! If you do not give all your presents to Hugo Weasley, you will suffer a life of torment! You will be as poor as Jacob Cratchit!" Hugo said in what was supposed to be a spooky voice.

"That's Jacob Marley and Bob Cratchit, you stupid git. And what makes you think you can have all my presents?" James snapped.

"You saw through my disguise? I thought you wouldn't be able to recognize me!" Hugo pouted. His arms dropped and so did the necklaces, several of which fell to the floor.

"So that's where my necklaces went! You are going to have some explaning to do, young man," Ginny scolded, appearing at the doorway. Hugo stuck his tongue out at James as Ginny dragged him out of the room. James kicked the necklaces out into the hallway and slammed his door shut again.

"That stupid book Al was reading just gave him stupid ideas. Who does he think I am, Scrooge? I'm not some miserly grump who makes his workers suffer. I made sure to try to help Scorpius, he was ungrateful and refused it," James grumbled. It wasn't very long before James decided to just go to sleep. However, it wasn't long before he woke up again, or at least he thought he was awake. Someone he had only seen in pictures was standing beside his bed. Sirius Black.

"Hugo, is that you again? How did you get such a good disguise? Did you use Polyjuice Potion?" James asked in awe, assuming it was his younger cousin.

"I'm not Hugo, James. I have come back as a spirit to give you a message," Sirius stated.

"You mean like in that book Albus was reading? That I should give money to the poor or something? Or are you telling me to be nice to my brother? I don't really see the point of that, everyone else likes him better anyway," James shrugged, "So what, are three other spirits going to come? I thought you chose to move on, anyway."

"I came back for this, because it's very important. I don't want my godfather's son going down the path of Dark magic. You have too much good in you, James, too much potential to waste like that. I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did, or the mistakes my own brother made," Sirius explained.

"Why do you think I'd be a Dark wizard? I'm Harry Potter's son! That couldn't happen to me. I wouldn't join the New Death Eaters. I don't care about people being muggleborns or half-bloods or whatever. Why would I think that when I have Aunt Hermione?" James asked, confused as to what Sirius was talking about. Why was everyone accusing him of being like the Death Eaters?

"I mean arrogance, James. It can blind a person to his or her own weaknesses. It can make people think that others don't matter, as long as they get what they want, or forget how their actions affect others. It's not that I or anyone thinks you would purposely be a Dark wizard, James, it's more that you might do something that hurts your loved ones without realizing it," Sirius explained, "Three others have come to tell you things tonight. It would be good for you to listen to them. I want my namesake to have a good life." He then faded away, leaving James staring at the empty space.

"That sounds just like that book Albus was reading. But why is it happening to me? Why not someone like Draco Malfoy? He's much more suited to be Scrooge than me," James asserted before falling back on his bed. He wasn't sure if he was awake or not, but if he was, he wanted to be able to sleep so he wouldn't be too tired in the morning to enjoy his presents. After closing his eyes and falling back into sleeping darkness, he saw another visitor from the dead. His grandmother, the first Lily Potter.

"Hello, my grandson," she said gently, "If you will come with me, I would like to show you some things that you will recognize, or at least I hope you will." Remembering the story, James noticed that she was carrying a pensieve. Was she the Spirit of Christmas Past? Was she going to show him her own memories, or was she going to use HIS memories instead?

"You mean the past? My past, or yours? Am I going to get to see what happened when Dad defeated Voldemort?" James wondered aloud.

"Your past. There are some things I would like you to remember," Lily said. She let the ghostly pensieve hover in mid-air as she touched an ethereal wand to his head and drew out some memories. James was surprised, why did he need to see his own memories? What did she think was in there, a lost love who he scorned because she didn't have enough money? Some incident of Albus saving his life that he didn't remember ever happening? James and his ghostly grandmother both ducked into the pensieve, landing in a scene from 8 years ago. Little James and Albus were happily flying around on toy broomsticks in what looked like the backyard of the Burrow. Their cousin Rose was watching them intently, not jealously, but more like she was analyzing the turns and moves they made. Just then, little Lily Luna, who was only 3 at that time, ran out into the yard, chasing her brothers.

"Fly too! I wanna fly too!" she called out. She ran in front of James and he swerved to miss her, crashing into Albus instead. The scene faded out and then reformed. It was later in that day, and Albus was hiding in Harry's arms, whimpering. Little James was standing nearby, looking very guilty.

"I'm sorry, Al. I didn't mean to hit you. I didn't want to hit Lily," little James was explaining. Albus didn't speak, but he looked at James tearfully and let James give him a hug.

"You know, you still love your brother, deep in your heart. Those feelings never went away," Grandmother Lily said, "You've just forgotten them."

"Well, it's not like I'd want something REALLY bad to happen to him. I just wish he didn't get all the attention. Everyone likes him better because he looks like Dad," the currently-teenaged James pouted.

"Do people actually say that? Do they truly say that they like him better because of his appearance?" Grandmother Lily asked seriously, "Have you ever heard anyone say they prefer Albus over yourself?"


	3. Visions and Memories

Chapter 3: Visions and Memories

The scene changed before James could respond. James and his siblings were out at Diagon Alley. In this memory, James was 11, and he was finally getting to start at Hogwarts. They were buying books at Flourish and Blotts. James realized what this was, and he sighed bitterly at the memory.

"Harry Potter! Still just as famous as you were in school, aren't you?" said Parvati Patil, who was talking to Harry and Ginny. Albus was clinging to Harry's robes shyly, Lily was holding a book about dragons and tugglng on Harry's arm eagerly.

"Unfortunately, yes," Harry said, sounding a bit embarrassed. James, watching the memory, rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Dad never appreciated his fame. If I was famous like him, I'd love it," he grumbled.

"Is that your son? He looks just like you," Parvati commented, as she was able to catch a glimpse of Albus's green eyes before he buried his face back into Harry's robes. "Maybe he'll follow in your footsteps and be a hero someday." From behind a bookshelf, where he was returning with his new books, 11-year old James looked on, hearing Parvati's comment about Albus.

"I could be a hero too! I'm starting Hogwarts!" James announced, obviously trying to get the attention back on himself.

"Good for you! It's gotten a lot better since I was there, you'll have a proper Defense Against the Dark Arts education with Samantha Rain teaching it," Parvati said, smiling at James. James grinned, and turned to leave to check out his books.

"You know, James doesn't really look much like Harry, does he? A bit like his mum, but you couldn't tell he was a Potter just by looking at him," commented a woman who was near Parvati.

"I guess not, but he's still Harry's son. I'm sure he'll have a great time at Hogwarts, Lavender," Parvati said. Though they both assumed they were out of earshot, 11-year old James had obviously heard Lavender's unthinking comment. His confident grin faded, uncertain what that meant.

The scene faded out again, and in the next memory, James was taking his first ride on the Hogwarts Express. He was in a compartment alone, when a redhaired girl came in.

"You look like you're my age! I'm just starting Hogwarts! I'm Strawberry Shortcake!" the girl said eagerly.

"Me too! I'm James Potter!"

"You? Don't make up lies. You don't even look like Harry Potter," Strawberry snapped, "Who are you REALLY?"

"No! I really am James Potter!" James protested.

"I don't like show-offs. Even if you ARE Harry Potter's son, that's nothing special. He's just a big show-off and so are you, trying to pretend you're his son," Strawberry accused before leaving the compartment and slamming the door.

"See? She would've believed Albus!" James whined to Lily.

"Maybe, maybe not. I can see how you would have that idea, although that girl didn't seem to like Harry anyway. However, there was someone who adored you, who was the very admirer you wished for," Lily reminded him, as the scene changed once again. This time, they were at Hogwarts, in the Great Hall. It was the Sorting from 2 years ago, when Albus had first started at Hogwarts. Scorpius had just been sorted into Gryffindor, and he was sitting with James and Galaxy, talking to them.

"But you're his son! You can tell me how to be exactly like Harry Potter!" Scorpius exclaimed, "I want to be like him, not my father." James watched as his past self from 2 years agreed to let Scorpius come visit for the holidays, and James was surprised to remember that Scorpius had been truly happy then. And that he had sincerely seen James as a potential role model, too. The scene shifted to Christmas Eve 2 years ago, when James had convinced Scorpius to stick his head in Harry's pensieve.

"You didn't know what that substance was? And yet you still told your friend to stick his head in it?" Lily admonished, "I would have at least expected you to treat your friends better than that. Your grandfather may have been arrogant when he was young, but he always highly valued his friends."

"How was I supposed to know he was going to see Draco in that thing? You think I made him see those memories on purpose?" James snapped, not understanding why his grandmother was annoyed with his actions.

"No, but you obviously lied to him about knowing what was in that pensieve and told him to put his head in it without knowing what it would do. What if it had been poison? You were using him to test that substance so you wouldn't have to risk your own safety, weren't you?" Lily challenged.

"Well, no, I guess I wasn't thinking, I just thought it would be funny to see what would happen, but...at least I invited him to come with me! That was being a friend, wasn't it? He was lucky I let him into my home, being the son of Draco Malfoy," James huffed, "I was the one who took a chance that he might just be using ME so he could get revenge on Dad." Lily shook her head sadly, but instead of continuing to lecture James, she let the memories speak for themselves. Scenes of Scorpius berating himself for being an "evil Malfoy" played before James's eyes, and then he was standing in the memory of a trip to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

"Not this one," James groaned, "Dad was being completely unfair. He had no right to take away my Hogsmeade privileges over a harmless prank like that."

"That wasn't why he took away those privileges. It was because you stole his Invisbility Cloak," Lily reminded him, "And once again, you lied to Scorpius and tricked him. The least you could've done would be to tell him he was drinking Polyjuice Potion that would make him look like you. You expected him to just follow your orders without question."

"Of course I did! He's a dirty Malfoy, of course he has to do what I say!" James argued, "It's part of that 'making up for what his evil father did' thing he's always whinging about."

"So you think that his family background means he is inferior to you?" Lily asked, "Do you truly believe that a person's worth is determined by his or her family background?" James paused, uncertain about his answer. He was about to protest that Scorpius was a special case, but then he saw something else in the pensieve. In it, he was trying to cheer Scorpius up by comparing him to Sirius Black. Sirius had come from exactly the same kind of family background as Scorpius, and yet he had rebelled against his family's blood purist values. Scorpius certainly WAS different from Draco, or at least what James knew of Draco and the other Malfoys.

"I don't know," James admitted, "But he rejected me! He had no right to do that! He should've just obeyed me and then everything would've been fine!"

"Why do you think he should have obeyed you? Did you ever listen to what he wanted in return? If I understand what I have seen, his reason for questioning you is because he didn't agree that you should be stealing things. Would you want to be friends with someone who saw nothing wrong with thievery?" Lily questioned.

"But I was doing it to help him! I wanted to give him the chance to change his looks, even if it only lasted a little while!" James protested. Lily pointed to the scene before them. In it, James and Scorpius were having an argument in the Great Hall.

"You're the one always whining that you look like Draco! Can't you just be happy to look like me for an hour so I can sneak into Hogsmeade!" James shot back, revealing that his motives were not as pure as he claimed them to be.

"Sneak into Hogsmeade? SNEAK INTO HOGSMEADE! I AM DONE BEING USED AS A DECOY FOR YOUR ILLEGAL PRANKS, JAMES POTTER! GOOD BYE!" Scorpius screamed, and he stomped loudly out of the Great Hall. The scene then disappeared, and James found himself back in his room with grandmother Lily's spirit.

"So what if I lied. Dad snuck into Hogsmeade too when he was my age. If he can do it, then I can too," James said.

"I wish I could continue to help you, but my time with you has come to an end. There are two more spirits to visit you. Goodbye, my grandson," Lily said, sighing sadly.

"But what about Scorpius? Why was it so wrong for me to have him be a decoy?" James protested. However, Lily didn't answer as she faded away. A few seconds later, a light appeared on James's bed. Before his eyes, the ghost of Remus Lupin appeared, sitting on James's bed as if he was still alive and solid.

"Let me guess, you're the Spirit of Christmas Present. Are you going to show me some poor sick kid who needs me to send his family money or something?" James said with a roll of his eyes.

"How did you know I was the Spirit of Christmas Present?" Lupin said, surprised.

"It's out of a muggle book that seems to be turning into my reality tonight," James shrugged, "Well? Who are you going to show me? Tiny Tim and Bob Cratchit?"

"No. Someone else. Despite his wealthy background, he is still suffering from the way you treated him in the past," Lupin said. He took out a device that looked much like a muggle television screen. "This will allow us to watch what is happening in other places. Tell me if you recognize this place." A scene of a house that James recognized appeared on the screen, and then it zoomed in, showing some people inside.

"Teddy's house? What are we doing here?" James exclaimed, "Is he going to tell me about my future?" He then saw what Lupin was pointing at. Scorpius was sitting on the couch next to Andromeda Tonks.


	4. Past and Future Misdeeds

Chapter 4: Past and Future Misdeeds

"Scorpius? Not you, too! Why does everyone think I did something to him? He's the one who rejected my friendship! All he needed to do was just obey me, like a good friend!" James ranted.

"If he was able to stand up to you and speak his opinions, then he is a much braver man than I ever was. Especially with the way he idolized you," Lupin pointed out. From where they were floating, they could see that Scorpius was looking at a photo album. Many of the pictures in it were of James and the other Potter-Weasley relatives, including an entire few pages simply of Quidditch snapshots.

"I want to be his friend again. But I also want him to stop stealing things. It doesn't matter if he says he was doing it for me, it's still wrong," Scorpius said to Andromeda, who was looking at the album with him.

"Try talking to him again. Maybe he'll listen to you if you show him this album and remind him of the good times you had together in your first year at Hogwarts," Andromeda suggested.

"Why can't we just apparate to go talk to him? It's not my fault he wanted to stop following me!" James complained.

"Ghosts can't do side-along apparition. This was the only way I could show you. It's like a pensieve, only it shows the present, not people's memories," Lupin explain, somewhat apologetically, "If we could side-along apparate I would certainly take you, though." Scorpius was still talking to Andromeda, unaware that anyone was watching him.

"But what if he doesn't listen? What if I don't deserve to have him listen to me? He's Harry Potter's son, does that mean he's better than me? But why doesn't he have the same morals his father does?" Scorpius worried.

"Do you value the same things your own father does?" Andromeda asked.

"Of course not! HE'S EVIL!" Scorpius shouted.

"Then why do you expect James to be just like Harry Potter?" Andromeda continued to ask.

"I don't know. I didn't think of it that way. I want to be his friend again, and maybe I could talk to him. I at least don't want him to end up in Azkaban for stealing something big. He's such a talented Quidditch player, he could do so much better in life than to throw it all away over stealing things and getting expelled from Hogwarts," Scorpius realized.

"What? Is that true? That I could be expelled from Hogwarts just for nicking a few things? I'm Harry Potter's son! They can't do that to me!" James exclaimed indignantly. Lupin sighed and pointed a ghostly wand at the screen. It changed, showing Grimmauld Place now. The screen showed Harry, Ron and Hermione as they were finishing with wrapping presents.

"This is in my house! Why can't I just go downstairs and talk to them? What's the point of showing me this?" James burst out, confused as to why he was getting to peek at something that would normally be hidden from him and his siblings. He looked around and realized that his room didn't look the same anymore. It looked misty and gray, with only his bed, himself and the strange TV-like device Lupin had being the only things that were even in color. "Am I dreaming and that's why? Is this all happening in my head? Is all of this not real?" Lupin shrugged and gave a slight smile.

"I heard from Dumbledore that your father asked something similar once. Even it is in your head, it still might be real. There are at least real lessons you must learn. Listen to what they are saying," he directed, pointing to the screen.

"Do you think James really meant what he said? That he thinks you want to hoard all the fame for yourself? I'm not even sure why he said that and why he was trying to hex Albus. He seemed like something was bothering him when we picked him up from the Hogwarts Express, maybe something happened to him there," Hermione was saying.

"I can understand how he's feeling. At least, I remember that I used to be jealous of how it seemed like everyone always adored Harry. But thinking that he needs to be worshipped just because he's a Potter? And saying that it's Albus's fault he's not worshipped? We're going to have to have a talk with him in the morning," Ron replied.

"Fine! I'll talk to you! It's not that I REALLY think being a Potter means I should be worshipped, it's just that I hate that all of that fame is going to someone who doesn't want it! I like being surrounded by fans, why can't I have that fame instead of Dad?" James ranted at the screen.

"Maybe it's because he's never actually been in danger before, thank Merlin," Hermione realized, "He hears all these amazing stories that sound like fun and adventure but actually were quite terrifying to experience."

"That sounds like something I said to you and Ron long ago," Harry answered with a knowing chuckle. "We can discuss this with James tomorrow. After he gets his presents, of course."

"Okay, fine! I'll talk to Mum and Dad about this! Is that what you wanted to hear, Lupin?" James snapped at the ghostly figure beside him.

"That is better. However, there is still one more spirit who must show you something. I do wish I could have stayed longer, though, at least to be able to see Teddy again," Lupin sighed, resigned.

"The Spirit of Christmas Future, right? What, am I going to be dead and unloved or something? Look, I'm not THAT bad, am I? All I did was steal a few things and tell Scorpius what to do! It's not like I'm a Death Eater!" James shouted. However, Lupin was already fading away, and the mist in the room was getting thicker. James walked forward through the mist, expecting to see a graveyard, but instead it started to clear. He could see he was in Diagon Alley and it was foggy, like it often was in London. He then noticed a hooded figure wearing a black cloak. Under the hood he realized that the figure had a distinct hooked nose, and he saw a few strands of greasy black hair hanging out of the hood.

"Severus Snape? Is that you?" James exclaimed, and then he laughed. "I've met your little cousin who was named after you, he's a lot nicer and was sorted into Gryffindor with me!"

"You should learn a thing or two from him, Potter. I have watched over him from my Hogwarts portrait and he, at least, has a clean criminal record. I never thought I'd say this, but I've found someone who is even more arrogant than your grandfather, and that would be you. You think you have the right to just take things from people? That people should worship you? You think people will worship you in the future?" Snape demanded. He pointed to three people who were sitting on a bench outside of Flourish and Blotts. James realized that they looked like his cousin Rose Weasley and fellow Gryffindor students Galaxy Baghill and Severus Prince, only they were 10 years older than they were in the time James saw them last. That, James could also tell because the newspaper Severus was holding said that the date was Christmas Eve, in the year 2029. He also noticed that Rose was crying.

"I just can't believe James would do that! But he really did start hating Scorpius after my second year at Hogwarts, and then there was that big hex war they had in the middle of the Great Hall during our 5th year, but to poison him?" Galaxy exclaimed indignantly.

"I poison Scorpius in the future? Is this what happens if I never make up with him? We would just become enemies like Dad was with Draco?" James realized.

"He didn't want me to marry Scorpius. He said it would 'taint' my bloodline," Rose whimpered, soon turning to sobs, "And now he's in hiding from the law and Dad's searching for him because he stole Uncle Harry's invisbility cloak again!"

"Is Scorpius going to survive? He hasn't died, has he?" Severus worried.

"I don't know. I don't even know what kind of potion James used, but he tricked Scorpius into drinking it the day after we announced our engagement. He...he was so trusting!" Rosie sobbed, "He still trusted James to at least not poison him!"

"I thought you worked as a Healer now, though," Galaxy said, "Don't you get to see him?"

"For the Holyhead Harpies, since they needed a Mediwitch with Quidditch injury experience. You know I don't actually work at St. Mungo's, but I wish I did, at least so I could help Scorpius," Rosie answered. The area around Snape and James shimmered, like changing memories in a pensieve. They were still in Diagon Alley, but Rose, Galaxy and Severus were gone, and there were less people. Just then, shouts rang out as a witch who was wearing a crude imitation of a Death Eater costume dashed down the street, firing curses.

"The Dark Lord will rise again! Mudbloods die!" she shrieked gleefully. Her hood flew back and James recognized her as Andromeda Elm, a student who had been notorious for her blood-purist beliefs back at Hogwarts. He still couldn't believe that she had to share a name with Teddy Lupin's kind grandmother, but then again, lots of people shared names with people who were highly unlike them. Harry Potter was in hot pursuit of her, chasing her on a broomstick.

"Get her, Dad! I want to see you take down a Dark witch like you did with Voldemort!" James cheered.

"Avada Kedavra!" Andromeda yelled. James watched in horror as his father's future self was struck by the deadly green light. Harry fell off his broom, dead before he hit the ground.


	5. I'll Change!

Chapter 5: I'll Change!

"I have killed Harry Potter! I succeeded where the Dark Lord failed!" Andromeda announced in triumph. In front of Flourish and Blotts, James's older self suddenly appeared, pulling Harry's invisibility cloak off of himself. The present day James realized with even more guilt that if his future self had not stolen the cloak to go running from the law, Harry would have been able to at least hide from Andromeda and survived. The future James struck out with a curse at Andromeda, but it ricocheted off of her Shield Charm and hit him, causing ropes to tie around his body.

"That's enough! I understand! I'm sorry I stole Dad's cloak and all those other things, is that what you want? And I'll try to make up with Scorpius!" James blurted out, as his future self began to scream with the agony of the Cruciatus Curse that Andromeda was using on him.

"Only if you remember what these visions have shown you, James Potter. There is still time for you to mend your arrogant ways," Snape said as the area around them dimmed. There was a whooshing sound, and James found himself back in his bed. It was Christmas morning, or at least he hoped it was. Had his dreamlike journey truly brought him back to the present?

"Wake up, James! It's time for presents! Or are you still being a grumpy Scrooge who hates Christmas?" Hugo teased, throwing James's bedroom door open.

"I don't hate Christmas, Hugo. Now get out of my room so I can get dressed and open presents with everyone," James ordered good-naturedly, an odd smirk spreading across his face. What would Hugo say if he knew what kind of dream James had just experienced that night? Or was it a dream? Whatever it was, it had opened some new feelings inside of James. Like he wanted to be friends with Scorpius again, and that he could understand why Harry was so upset at him when he stole the invisbility cloak. He came downstairs, looking for his parents, as he had a request for them. When he got to the foot of the stairs, Rebecca blocked his pathway.

"What are you even doing here? You have no right to celebrate Christmas with us after what you did to me and Albus!" she accused.

"It was wrong, I know. But can't I have a second chance?" James pleaded. Rebecca stared at him in shock.

"Wait. Did YOU just admit you were wrong about something? You're not playing a trick, are you?" she asked suspiciously.

"Not EVERYTHING I do is a trick. Don't you get that I just apologized to you? I admit it, I was wrong to think that Albus was keeping me from getting attention, he's too quiet to command that kind of respect anyway," James replied.

"Guess what, everyone! James actually admitted he was wrong! It's a movie Christmas miracle!" Rebecca called loudly, "Alert the Daily Prophet!"

"Go ahead! I'll get to be famous if I'm in the Daily Prophet!" James retorted cheerfully. Rebecca stopped and stared at him, even more confused.

"You're serious, aren't you. What turned you into a goody-goody all of a sudden?" she asked, "Did you get visited by ghosts who taught you the true meaning of Christmas or something?"

"Maybe I did," James shrugged.

"What's this about James being in the Daily Prophet?" Ron asked, "Do you think you're going to suddenly become a famous Seeker or something?"

"No, Rebecca thinks that me apologizing to her is big news. I also want to apologize to you, Uncle Ron, I should not have stolen that Polyjuice Potion from that bag of things you took away from criminals," James admitted.

"Well, thank you. You certainly sound like you had a change of heart overnight. Maybe after we get breakfast and open presents we can talk about what happened last night. Can't do serious discussion without food, right?" Ron said, surprised but pleased by what he was hearing.

"Can Scorpius be a part of it? I want to talk to him too," James requested.

"Of course. Andromeda was going to visit anyway, to see Teddy, so I'm sure she can bring Scorpius with her. I rather like that kid, he sure seems to admire me," Ron grinned. Rebecca rolled her eyes at that, as she thought Scorpius was annoyingly whiny most of the time. However, she thought that perhaps if he became friends with James again, he could learn to have more fun and stop complaining so much about his family being evil. After breakfast was done, it was time to give out presents. They were about to gather around the tree when James remembered something.

"Please wait. I need to go get something," he said quickly before running off to his room. He took the Lord of the Rings DVDs out from under his bed and threw them in a paper bag that had once contained some muggle sweets from Uncle Dudley. Just as James was going to come downstairs, he heard excited talking, followed by the unmistakable sound of something crashing. Then he heard a very familiar posh-accented voice.

"I'M SO SORRY! I DESERVE ANY PUNISHMENT FOR DIRTYING YOUR SACRED HOME!"

"Scorpius? Is that you?" James exclaimed excitedly. Could his chance to make things up have come already? He climbed up on the bannister and slid down while still holding onto Albus's present, leaping off with the grace of an experienced Chaser. He then ran into the kitchen. He could see presents being placed on the table, while a soot-covered Scorpius gave profuse apologies to Harry's feet, an overturned chair next to him.

"Why don't you apologize to the chair, Scorpius? You didn't knock Harry over," Ron teased, although it didn't seem like Scorpius had heard him.

"I'm the one who should be apologizing. I was a bad friend. I shouldn't have tried to make Scorpius be my decoy," James muttered guiltily to himself. Rosie, however, had heard him anyway.

"Did you hear that Scorpius? James just apologized to you," she said gently. Scorpius looked up at James with tearful eyes, unsure how to react.

"I didn't want to stop being your friend, even though I know I don't deserve it. But I just didn't want to do things I knew were wrong, and I had thought you knew they were wrong too," Scorpius explained.

"I know that now," James admitted, "I used to think that I shouldn't have to follow the same rules as everyone else since I'm Harry Potter's son, but that was probably wrong of me. I realized that thinking that way is like how Draco used to act, and I don't want to be like him."

"You're not like my evil father, James. Especially not if you can say what you just said. I know you're an amazing Quidditch player and you got good grades on your exams, so I don't want to see your talents get wasted. I don't want to see you end up in Azkaban or living your life running from the law. Then you might be famous, but for the wrong reasons, like how Voldemort was famous but it was because everyone was scared of him," Scorpius replied.

"Well, being a famous Dark Wizard might be interesting," James mused aloud, but then he laughed, seeing the horrified expression on Scorpius's face. "I'm just kidding, Scorpius! You're right, being a criminal probably wouldn't be that much fun. Being a famous Quidditch player would be a lot better."

"Can we have our presents yet? Or are James and Scorpius done talking?" Lily blurted out impatiently.

"I'm so sorry, Lily Potter! And I didn't know I was coming so I forgot to give you a present! Please hit me if it will make you feel better!" Scorpius wailed melodramatically.

"I don't even WANT to hit you, and you didn't have to bring me a present. I just wanted to know if you and James were done talking. Why do you always say those weird things about yourself?" Lily asked, sounding both annoyed and confused.

"Because he fears being a Malfoy makes him evil, even though it's not true," Rosie sighed in explanation.

"Let's forget about apologizing and just give out presents! I'll go first! This is for you, Albus, it's from Dad and me!" James announced, eager to stop Scorpius from continuing his unnecessary self-punishment. He held out the paper bag and Albus took it nervously, worried that James might have boobytrapped the package somehow. Albus opened the bag and took out the DVD set, gazing at it in happy surprise.

"Thank you, James and Dad," he whispered shyly.

"Will you forgive me, Albus? For trying to hex you and thinking you were taking attention away from me? Just like it's not Scorpius's fault that he looks like Draco, I guess you can't help looking like a perfect little clone of Dad either. And I should try to be famous by doing things that people like, not just expecting people to worship me because of Dad," James said. Albus nodded quietly and then retreated to the corner of the room with his present, mixed feelings conflicting in his mind. On the one hand, he disliked the way he had suddenly become the center of attention and wished that James had approached him privately instead of in front of the whole family and Scorpius. However, he was also very pleasantly surprised by James's confession, which he knew was also something that was probably hard for his proud brother to say.

"That was very noble of you, James. Sometimes the hardest thing one can do is to admit one's mistakes. If you keep that good behavior up and keep trying, you may have your Hogsmeade privileges back next year," Harry said.

"All right! Finally! It'll be a lot more fun to go there without having to sneak in, anyway," James agreed, "Now we can all open presents! Merry Christmas, everyone!"


End file.
